Near miss incident at Pulau Dayang Malaysia

[muratkorman]

Last weekend we were a group of 4 divers going to diving in Pulau dayang - Pulau Aur area in Malaysia. We had 3 dives during the day and we were preparing for the last night dive. While the first 2 of our group were ready to go, my buddy's o-ring burst and it took us some time to follow them after the replacement of O-ring. In the meantime, they were already in the water, but there was something wrong. It was told to us later that the first diver jumped in without waiting his buddy. Moreover, the buddy check wasn't done yet and guess what, the tank air wasn't open. So the first diver was choking and not totally floating as he didn't inflate his BCD well. It took some time for his buddy to catch him from behind, open his air valve and calm him down. The serious point here is that the first diver is not a beginner, but a tired and not focused diver pushing his limits which invite problems. On top of that he is hasty not to wait for his buddy to follow him and complete his buddy check. It can happen to any diver when you have too much confidence in yourself and too tired to focus on safety. Please do not ignore buddy checks. First make your own checks for the equipment and let your buddy confirm. You may lose a few minutes more, but nothing is more important than your life.

[TSandM]

Yes! Doing appropriate checks saves a ton of inconvenience or even hazard. But there is another message here, which is that we sometimes overestimate what we can do, and underestimate the power of fatigue to derail good procedures and good judgment. As I read somewhere a long time ago, our brains write checks our bodies can't cash.

I got that lesson a couple of years ago, when I was pushing to get as many cave dives done on a trip as I could fit in. On the second day, the instructor who was coaching me said to me after the second dive, "You're tired." And I said, "No, I'm not, and what makes you think that?" And she said, "You're making mistakes you didn't make yesterday. You aren't following the tips I'm giving you. You're tired."

And I thought about it, and she was right, and I took the afternoon off. There is always another day to dive, if you stay cautious.

[Peter_C]

That is why I always take two breaths off each of my regs before hitting the water, while watching my analog pressure gauge. It helps that I can reach my valve if diving single tanks.

First rule is still "Drop your weights". He should have at least been ready to dump them, and put his hand on the weight release for muscle memory.

[wilde100]

Yes! Doing appropriate checks saves a ton of inconvenience or even hazard. But there is another message here, which is that we sometimes overestimate what we can do, and underestimate the power of fatigue to derail good procedures and good judgment. As I read somewhere a long time ago, our brains write checks our bodies can't cash.

I got that lesson a couple of years ago, when I was pushing to get as many cave dives done on a trip as I could fit in. On the second day, the instructor who was coaching me said to me after the second dive, "You're tired." And I said, "No, I'm not, and what makes you think that?" And she said, "You're making mistakes you didn't make yesterday. You aren't following the tips I'm giving you. You're tired."

And I thought about it, and she was right, and I took the afternoon off. There is always another day to dive, if you stay cautious.

Dayang is a very familiar dive site for me. And I have absolutely zero sympathy for that diver, IMHO he should have drunk a couple more mouths of water.

Jumping into the water without checking your gear, without checking your buddy, (without checking the water? - for night diving) is just asking for trouble. That night seems like trouble found him.

A part of being safe is to have a repetitive cycle of doing things. It's the minute details that count, especially when you are too tired to remember, repetition ensures you don't forget your air, don't forget your weight belt, etc.

So on to the topic of tiredness. Many divers fail to recognize the symptoms and consequences of tiredness.

I also have another observation here. Night dives at Dayang / Aur are when it is most likely an accident will occur. The overnight 4hr boat ride to the island, arriving at 3am, 1st dive at 9+AM. 3 day dives followed by a night dive. The odds of an accident are stacked against the diver.

[monkeyfish69]

You jump off a boat with your air off or no weights then you buy EVERY ONE on the boat a round of drinks back in harbour! dummy

[AfterDark]

You jump off a boat with your air off or no weights then you buy EVERY ONE on the boat a round of drinks back in harbour! dummy

That works for me!!!

[TSandM]

Rereading the initial post, I also think there is another lesson here. I've been out on a LOT of dive boats where the staff are trying to get things done quickly (to give them credit, I think they're just trying to be efficient) and they rush the divers into the water. We had an INSTRUCTOR on a boat in the South Pacific get ticked at us for insisting on doing a buddy check -- he said, "It's going to be a NIGHT DIVE by the time you guys get in the water!" Peter appropriately ripped his head off over this.

It's very easy, if you are the compliant sort, to get frazzled when it seems as though the staff are annoyed with you, and begin skipping stuff. We all need to remember that it is OUR dive, and safety comes first, and checks are important.